The present invention relates to arch support devices for insertion in footwear in order to provide better comfort and support for the wearer""s foot, as well as more correct positioning of the foot.
Many individuals who are on their feet or walking for significant periods of time encounter problems usually associated with uncomfortable or poorly fitting footwear. Such problems often arise as a result of insufficient arch support in conventional footwear. Various types of shoe inserts have been devised in order to alleviate such problems. Some inserts consist only of a foam or padded cushion member, and provide no arch support. More sophisticated arch supports are molded of rigid or semirigid materials to follow the contour of the sole of a wearer""s foot more precisely. However, an arch support which is too rigid will not flex sufficiently with the wearer""s foot, and can be uncomfortable.
It is known to make arch supports out of rigid or semirigid plastic material, with a pattern of indents on the undersurface of the support in thicker regions to enhance flexibility. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,543,765 of Alzner describes an arch support with an area of raised convex configuration in the forward region, and the undersurface in the forward region has a series of square, waffle-like indentations for providing flexibility in the thickest region of the support.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved arch support device with enhanced flexibility in the thickest region of the support.
According to the present invention, an arch support device is provided, which comprises a support member having a periphery shaped to conform to at least part of the periphery of the sole of a wearer""s footwear, the member having a longitudinal axis, an upper surface, a lower surface, a forward end, and a rear end, the upper surface being contoured to follow the contours of the sole of a wearer""s foot, the upper surface having a heel region extending from the rear end, an arch region, and a forward region extending to the forward end, each region being designed to lie under the corresponding regions of a wearer""s foot when in use, the forward region having an upwardly convex contour extending across part of its area, the lower surface having a waffled region lying under the forward region which has a plurality of indents, the indents forming a waffle pattern, and a plurality of ribs extending transverse to one another across the waffled region to separate the shaped indents. The ratio of the thickness of a rib to the width of the indent is in the range from 1:3 to 1:6.
In an exemplary embodiment, the indents are polygonal shape having non-perpendicular corners, and may be of diamond shape, but may alternatively be hexagonal, octagonal or other multi-sided shapes. The diamond shape indentations each have two opposite acute angle corners and two opposite obtuse angle corners, and in an exemplary embodiment the acute angle corners all lie on lines coincident with or parallel to the longitudinal axis of the support member. The waffled region is of generally rectangular shape with an arcuate front end following the contour of the forward end of the support member. Triangular shaped indents are provided around the periphery of the waffled region to fill any corresponding triangular gaps between adjacent diamond-shaped indents at the periphery.
The shape of the polygonal indents, along with the ratio of the peripheral wall or rib thickness to the width of each indent, provides more flexibility and elasticity than thicker-walled indents. This arrangement is less restrictive and rigid than prior art arch supports with square indents, and is more accommodating and comfortable to the foot.